A split in the infamous Parris gang, which operated in Toxteth and Granby, threatened to spark more violence on the streets and detectives started to pick up members of the feuding mobs.

Increasing numbers of deadly weapons were found by officers, fuelling anger among Terry’s henchmen. Furious about being under the cops’ microscope they planned to challenge the police at gunpoint, according to the detectives who investigated them.

After three trials Kwame Terry and Jordan Barber were convicted of conspiring to possess firearms and conspiring to supply Class A drugs. Barber also admitted conspiracy to supply Class B drugs. But neither man was convicted of a more serious charge of possession of firearms with intent to endanger life.

Detective Chief Superintendent Paul Richardson said: “As the pressure built, this gang began to overtly threaten the police and we got intelligence they were going to try and arm themselves to take on the police.”

That conspiracy was thwarted not long before officers uncovered the mob using an Ingram machine pistol, notorious in the firearms world for its ability to fire 1,200 rounds a minute.

Chilling footage showed gang member Alan Walton, 31, playing delightedly with the weapon and pulling the trigger, as pal Terry Winstanley jokes with him: “Is that your new toy, Walt?’`

Shootings began to escalate in Toxteth from the end 2012 as the Parris gang - named after two brothers Leroy and Sean - clashed with a competing mob, led by criminal John McKevitt.

Both began vying for control of the drug market in south Liverpool , with McEvitt’s faction upping its heroin purity from 10% to an alarming 55% to try and win new customers.

But after McEvitt’s arrest, the split in the rival Parris gang left detectives suddenly facing a swathe of new violence and firearm battles.

A Polish 9×18mm sub-machine gun, nicknamed a RAK, was intercepted as it was transferred through Toxteth, a weapon imported from the Balkans and recommissioned in Britain to be able to fire live ammunition.

More weapons were uncovered in Upper Parliament Street when a Norinco pistol - a Chinese copy of a Colt 45 handgun - a Kommando Uzi and a shotgun, all fully loaded, were found, along with hauls of drugs, broken down into individual dealer amounts.

It was these seizures which sparked panick among senior gang members to contemplate the unthinkable and, according to the police, plan an armed strike against officers.

Forty-five dangerous criminals have now been locked up, just operating in Toxteth alone.

Drugs including heroin, crack cocaine and cannabis with a total estimated street value of £3m was recovered.

Today, Merseyside Police said gun discharges forcewide had fallen by 31% this year.

Detective Chief Superintendent Richardson said: “The great reward is the community living in those areas blighted by these urchins who have no idea of consequences or regard for quality of life has got real strength.

“I’m not naive to say drugs are not here anymore on Merseyside, but I will continue to fight against drugs and violence in Liverpool.

“I’m hopeful that 241 years in jail for these people sends out a strong message.

“Kwame Terry has frightened that community for a long time. Twenty five years is a long time in prison.

“I’ll be 80 by the time he comes out. That gives me a big smile.”

Police Commissioner Jane Kennedy said: “Today’s sentences are the culmination of a detailed and extensive 12-month investigation, the largest police strike day ever mounted by Merseyside Police involving more than 400 officers and months of painstaking preparation putting the case together.”